A loss...

I mean that in multiple ways. First, I found out Phantasy Star IV has a saving problem. Evidentially, a legitimate save file can just be up and lost randomly. I'm not the only one who's had this problem, but save states seems to work just fine. Fortunately, I had such a save just before we got Rika on the team. Loading from there and redoing everything I did last night went well enough. Hahn survived the Sandworm fight, but Alys still kicked the bucket. The only difference is I feel poorer than before...

The way to Zio's Castle is north of Aiedo, and it's long and treacherous. In what is becoming a trend, I had to Escapepipe my way out several times. I know older games have the issue with being difficult, but this feels like padding. To be honest, though, I'm kinda into it. The game provides an ample number of pipes, so it's not even that tedious. It leaves us with more money in the long run, and we'll always know when we're at the proper level. It's a very winding path that doesn't have enough treasure, but you should be fine. Let the slime things fuse for some good EXP!

Outside and to the west is Kadary. It's a town verging on a civil war because one side has joined the Church of Zio. It seems our BBG has developed some followers who have build a massive church in his honor. They all say that they're looking forward to the end of the world and the rebirth that will follow. Everyone thinks they'll be on the otherside if they follow The Black Magician's words. There are no new gear merchants, but there is an Escapepipe salesman and an inn we'll be revisiting often. Just to the south west of Kadary is Zio's Fort.

In the middle of the first floor is a stairwell down, but it's blocked by an electrical wall we can't pass. So the only other way is up. In the back are two ways up. Right is to a dead end, and left is where we need to go. Get ready to say that often. Throughout this whole dungeon are two to five ways to go. Each path takes you somewhere good, though. Usually... I found a high quality sword for Chaz, a claw for Rika, a rang for Alys, and some armor I gave to Hahn. There's also a shield, but no one could equip it with my current setup. But that's not all that was in here. We've got enemies a plenty! And they all hate Mr. Hahn! Seriously why do the grasshoppers always target him? We've also got the humanoid looking creatures we were fighting on the world map around here, as well as a guy who has a cool sword. He can drop that sword, but it's not as good as what we find in here. The encounter rate jumps up, and it'll take a while to win your fights. And with Hahn dying so often, I had to pipe out a bunch. Alys missing out on that Sandworm EXP isn't helping her, either.

But eventually, on the third floor (which doesn't sound like a long climb when I type it out), we meet someone with a name. Juza is one of Zio's strongest followers, and he won't let us pass. Words will fail as he initiates combat. He looks like a magician, and he fights like one. He can do a teamwide spell on all of us, but it only does about thirty damage. He'll, more often than not, attack with a single target spell that we, ourselves, can use. I went all out and didn't bother healing because I'm dumb, and only Chaz, Gryz, and Rika survived. Had I bothered to heal, I doubt I would have lost anyone. Once I get a heal all spell, I'm sure I'll do that more often. Ultimately, he's not very hard. Upon his death, a hidden stairwell will appear. I piped out, but you shouldn't.
 
Two floors up, we'll meet a woman with bright green hair chained up. This is Demi! We free her, and she'll heal our wounds. She's a robot created to work alongside the computers, which I should really learn the names of. That is why Zio kidnaped her. We're prepared to ask her a few questions, but we're quickly interrupted by Zio. He's not happy that we've invaded his house and tries to kick us out. He calls out so a higher power, and we enter combat.

We only do one damage... I have a bad feeling about this. After a few rounds of him letting us poke him, he'll summon a black dragon cloud. On his next turn, he'll end the battle. The screen will flash, and a dark tendril will pierce the heart of Alys. Getting the hint, we leave. I guess he just lets us? Outside, Demi tries to treat Alys, but even she is unable to do so. Without further recourse, Hahn says we should take her to Krup.

While there, Demi still can't treat her. She suggests that Alys might be in the process of being possessed by Zio. Alys is able to mutter that Rune might be able to help. Everyone then remembers that he could do magic, which might be what's she's getting at. What have we been using if it wasn't magic? Despite Chaz' disdain for the wizard, he agrees to go looking for him. But where did he go? Gryz reminds us that he went somewhere with Grandpa and that somewhere might be across the quicksand to the east. Demi knows how to pass the stuff and tells us about the Land Rover. Rika is shocked such a thing would still exist, so we all head down. Hahn stays behind to be with his wife-to-be and Alys. Just south of Krup is a garage. We enter, turn on some future technology, and Demi tells us that the mainframe to all the world controlling computers is located below Zio's Fort. That must be what the forcefield was blocking! Demi enjoys messing around with ancient technology, which is how she got kidnapped by Zio.

Outside is the Land Rover. It functions as an item, so it'll be there if you leave it. However, you should spend as little time as possible in it. We can still trigger random battles, and the Rover fights on our behalf. It's strong, for sure, but we're stronger. We're also faster, which is more important. It heals up after combat, so don't worry about it breaking down. But I wonder...

I'll see what happens tomorrow, though!

I started the second Hunter quest. It involves finding a lost dog, which seems up our alley! I was beginning to come around on Hahn, so I'm sad to see him leave my party. And Alys, while not that strong, was a great setup with her attack all attack. Demi uses a gun that only hits one person, so whatever.